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Sponsored By... is a tier 6 skill in Jack's Free Enterprise skill tree. It grants a bonus based on the manufacturer of the last gun that the character was holding. Effects *Dahl: +50% Recoil Reduction *Hyperion: +30% Accuracy *Jakobs: +30% Gun Damage *Maliwan: Adds 25% of the current weapon's damage as Elemental Damage with ~8% Elemental Effect Chance *scavs: +35% Magazine Size *Tediore: +35% Reload Speed *Torgue: Adds 25% of current weapon's damage as Explosive damage *Vladof: +35% Fire Rate Notes * Sponsored By... is useful for improving or negating the usually-unavoidable downsides of any given manufacturer. With the right synergies, standard blue/purple quality weapons can become outright deadly, even when compared with some or weapons. * Guns from the same manufacturer as the previously-held gun can gain bonuses as per normal (i.e a Vladof gun with a Vladof bonus will fire even faster). * This skill can be used to enhance standard weapons with even more benefits from their own manufacturer. This is effective since the boost is percentage-based; guns with a good positive trait will gain even more from a matching bonus (i.e Jakob's damage boost on a Jakobs shotgun will grant a substantial damage buff). * The Maliwan bonus follows the element of the previously-held gun. For example, if the Maliwan weapon was of the element, the currently-held weapon will gain the chance to deal shock damage (and damage over time). This stacks with any element the main weapon currently has, allowing the gun to deal two different types of damage. * The Torgue damage bonus does not benefit from grenade or critical-related bonuses. * While the Jakobs 30% damage boost seems to render the Torgue and Vladof bonuses obsolete, there are instances where the latter will outdamage the Jakobs bonus. In extended fights (such as bosses), the Vladof bonus will deal much more overall damage as fire rate contributes more to damage-per-second. Meanwhile, the Torgue bonus will deal the most damage against frozen targets, especially with a high fire rate cryo weapon. Synergies *The Dahl bonus can make recoil-heavy guns much easier to use, such as beam lasers and guns from Jakobs, scavs, and Vladof. *The Hyperion accuracy boost allow guns to function better at a longer range. If specced into accuracy-boosting skills such as Company Man, the Hyperion bonus can even make inaccurate guns effective, such as scavs guns and the Skullmasher. *The Jakobs damage bonus is a welcome improvement for any gun but is most effective for heavy burst damage necessary to eliminate foes in one hit, such as while sniping or close-range shotgunning. *The Maliwan bonus allows previously-resisted elements to be used effectively: on a shielded flesh target, granting a shock bonus to an incendiary weapon will strip the shield and immediately start dealing both fire and shock damage to the enemy without needing to switch to a different gun. This also allows for the use of elemental effects on Jakobs weapons. *The Scav magazine bonus is effective at keeping weapons firing for longer, especially those manufactured by Jakobs and Vladof due to their low magazine size and already high fire rate respectively. Additionally, Tediore weapons become even stronger when thrown with the increased magazine size. Switching from a Scav gun to another gun instantly & fully refills the latter's magazine even from empty, completely negating the slow reload speed on many weapons. *If using two Scav weapons, switching to the second weapon will partially refill its magazine if it is used, due to the skill granting a larger magazine size. *The Tediore reload bonus is beneficial on weapons with long reload times, such as Torpedos, Bangsticks, rocket launchers and Jakobs weapons. In a combat standpoint, however, the other DPS-boosting manufacturers (Jakobs, Maliwan, Torgue) are more effective for improving damage, as an improved reload speed cannot compete to a damage buff. Regardless, the Tediore bonus can still be enticing for characters keeping their weapons loaded before a battle. * Giving the Torgue bonus to a cryo weapon is an extremely effective combo, as frozen enemies will be simultaneously dealt explosive damage during their vulnerable state. With consistent fire on critical spots, this can take down bulky enemies relatively easily. However, this bonus lacks the versatility of the Maliwan bonus and the sheer firepower granted by both the Jakobs and Vladof buffs. *The Vladof fire rate bonus allow weapons with a slow fire rate to be fired quicker. Examples include Scav/Hyperion shotguns and Maliwan/Hyperion sniper rifles or railgun lasers. The fire rate bonus on an submachine gun/pistol with an already high firing speed allows them to become bullet hoses, but with the bonuses from its manufacturer. Maliwan Beam weapons, in particular, become extremely powerful with their continuous fire bonus.